New polygraph test could help solve critical worker shortage at U.S.-Mexico border

Agents in the Bootheel of New Mexico face dangers each day in the remote desert terrain. A USA TODAY NETWORK video production.

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017.(Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic)

The agency tasked with securing the nation's borders could soon implement a new and improved version of their mandatory polygraph test, which could make it easier to fill hundreds of vacancies along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We’re still identifying those people that haven’t disclosed something in their background that would be disqualifying, because we have very stringent background standards.”

Kevin McAleenan, the newly confirmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, on a 10-month pilot program that could potentially replace their current polygraph exam

"It’s showing very good results. It's reduced the time of the exam," McAleenan told members of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. "We’re still identifying those people that haven’t disclosed something in their background that would be disqualifying, because we have very stringent background standards."

CBP has reported that as many as three in four potential hires who have taken the exam did not pass. That's one of the highest failure rates among federal law enforcement agencies. McAleenan said the new pilot program has seen improvements in this area as well.

"We're not seeing a physiological response in as many cases that creates an inconclusive (result)," he added. "So our pass rates have increased using this protocol."

For years, CBP, which includes the U.S. Border Patrol, has faced critical shortages along the U.S.-Mexico border, where its Office of Field Operations is responsible for staffing ports of entry.

Meanwhile, OFO has about 1,100 unfilled jobs, according to CBP. This year, they're focusing recruitment efforts to boost hiring at Arizona's ports of entry, one of the areas with the most severe shortages along the border.

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For the past few years, the number of trucks with Mexican produce crossing through Nogales, Arizona, has been on the rise. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection is under a severe shortage of officers and inspectors along the border. Rafael Carranza/The Republic

The winter produce industry has expanded over the past few years in Nogales, Arizona. However, its growth has been limited by the shortage of customs officer and inspectors stationed at the border. Rafael Carranza/The Republic

Workers at the Valencia International warehouse in Nogales, Arizona, unload a truckload of tomatoes from Mexico on Jan. 16, 2018. Millions of pounds of produce cross into the country through Nogales during the winter time to supply markets across the United States. Rafael Carranza/The Republic

Jesus Castro, chief agriculture specialist of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, checks the trucks that bring produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Cortez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, checks a driver's paperwork as he brings produce imported from Mexico to the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Castro, chief agriculture specialist of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, talks about how the process works on imports from Mexico at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Jesus Castro, chief agriculture specialist of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, talks about how the process works on imports from Mexico at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Natalia Papachoris, chief officer of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, talks about how port operation works at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Arizona hard hit by border staff shortage

Because Arizona has been especially impacted by the shortages, some members of the state’s congressional delegation have actively worked to address the hiring and staffing challenges.

“After years of working with CBP to address unusually high failure rates and challenges administering the polygraph, I am pleased to hear this pilot program yields shorter exam times, higher pass rates and ultimately a more effective test for vetting law enforcement applicants,” said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona.

Flake has championed legislation that would allow certain applicants with military or law-enforcement experience to waive the exam to boost recruitment. But it has yet to get a full vote on the Senate floor.

“While there are still hiring and retention issues that need to be resolved, transitioning to this test would go a long way toward adequately staffing our ports of entry and securing the border," Flake said.

The House already passed a similar bill to Flake’s. It was introduced by Rep. McSally, R-Arizona, who also has worked to address the issue. She called the new pilot program a "step in the right direction."

“The agents and officers of CBP are our most valuable border security resource, but CBP is dangerously understaffed and needs to fill these important positions," McSally, the border-security subcommittee's chairwoman, said. "The polygraph examination should appropriately vet all applicants in a fair and timely matter so CBP has the highest quality applicants.”

McSally also authored a law requiring CBP to partner with the Department of Defense to promote border jobs to outgoing service members.

Efforts so far 'not enough'

"All of that is helping," McAleenan told the House panel. "But it’s not enough."

McAleenan added that hiring and retention of border agents and officers remains his “top mission support priority.”

McAleenan, who was confirmed last month as commissioner, said the CBP is in the process of wrapping up the polygraph pilot program and is looking to replace the current exam as the agency boosts its recruitment efforts nationwide.

Other details about the change remain hazy: CBP doesn't have a timeline, but expects to implement the new process by the summer. Officials also were unable to say precisely how much the passage rates have improved under the pilot program.

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Border Patrol agent John P. Lawson, drives along the border fence west of Nogales, where surveillance cameras, radar, ground sensors and other technology has made it harder for people to enter illegally and not get caught. Nick Oza/The Republic

John P. Lawson, operations officer with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that agents aren't nearly as busy as they once were along the fence. Last year, the Border Patrol made more than 63,000 apprehensions in the Tucson sector of people suspected of crossing illegally into the U.S. In 2005, agents in the Tucson sector made more than that in a single month. Nick Oza/The Republic

Increased border security and an increased chance of prosecution are among the factors cited in the 90 percent decrease of successful illegal crossing of the U.S.'s southern border.. Nick Oza/The Republic

There is much less activity along the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales these days than a decade ago, when agents in the Tucson Sector made 439,079 apprehensions of suspected illegal crossers in 2005. Nick Oza/The Republic

Border Patrol officers on horseback continue their search for suspected illegal crossers in late September. They caught two men after a six-hour search in a remote area at the U.S. Mexico border near Nogales. Nick Oza/The Republic